It is always a pleasure to work with corporate clients, and the staff from Audi Cars here in Gaziantep in Southern Turkey has been no exception.

Audi Cars Gaziantep

Some of the staff from many departments of Acarsan Audiin Gaziantep (Southern Turkey), from sales, marketing, fleet, accounts, attended the first of some courses designed to help in team work, and increase productivity for the company.

Fantastic group of people.

My thanks goes to Mehpare Kileci of Gap Danışmanlık for organising the even and her translation.

It is so empowering to deliver and work in an industry I love, to impart and share my knowledge in a fun and easy to learn way, to shake the hands of participants as they leave with smiles on their faces, knowing in some small way, I may have enriched their world, as well as those they have contact with.

“Phillip, are you up yet?“, or “Go back to sleep.“, were often comments I got in the morning from my mother when I was a younger boy. If she was awake, then I and the whole world should be awake, to be up and about, but, if she wanted a lay-in, if she wanted an extra hour of sleep, which always seemed to be on a Sunday, then I should also sleep in.

snoring Phillip

Living in a block of apartments in Norbiton Hall, it means I have a family above me, below me and to the two sides of me, and noise does penetrate the floors, ceilings and walls, which is understandable when sharing communal buildings.

It is the same in hotels, where one usually has a small room with very thin walls and doors separating ones-self and the other guests.

Travelling the world as I do on a regular basis, I have encountered many styles and types of hotels, and it seems that I do not sleep in the same bed for more than ten days at a time. I also encounter different cultures and behaviours.

Early morning calls for hotel guests, especially those on a tour when their bus/coach leaves at 7am. I did not ask for a call, but with the walls so thin I also hear their wake-up call.

Tours which need to have block booking of multiple rooms is another, “time to wake up” signal for Phillip, although I do not need one or placed one.

Suitcases being dragged down the corridors, and banging doors as guests come and go are a sleep disturbing episode.

School trips or sports team members love to stay-up late at night, perhaps going out to a late night disco, come back in high spirits, laughing, singing, shouting, running from room to room, banging doors.

Chinese tourists seem to have to shout from room to room with their doors closed. Have they not heard of the bedside telephone which they can use? The Oriental women seem to have to shout and in a high pitch voice in all their conversations.

In hotels catering for the Middle Eastern peoples, they seem to travel in family groups, and they allow the children to run from room to room into the early hours of the morning. OK, in my culture from the UK, all children have to be in bed for say 9pm. The hotel guests also leave their doors open to their rooms and shout to each other in conversations.

Then you get the couples, who, after a good night out, or a great meal in the restaurant, return to have an argument in their room. As I will not be able to probably understand their language, it all becomes a mass of unbearable noise which keeps me awake.

Then you get other noises.

A hotel in Ankara, Turkey where I stayed, gave me a really pleasant room, and I went to bed early to get enough sleep to give my course the next day. I was awoken with a thump, thump, thump, on the dividing wall between my room and the next. It was not long before the sounds of pleasure were penetrating the walls. Laying there, I had to endure the sounds for a few more minutes, until they ceased, and I was able to get to sleep.

An hour later, the thump, thump, thump, on my wall started again, waking me up, followed by the sounds of passion and pleasure. I lay there until it stopped and went back to sleep.

On the hour, every hour, all through the night this continued. I was exhausted.

The next morning I left my room to go down for breakfast the same time as the guests from the room next to mine left their room. She was young, model figured lady, and he was a wizen old man. I was amazed by his stamina, or could it be that the lady was a business lady?

I moved rooms.

On top of all the other noises as mentioned above, there are the traffic noises, people snoring, perhaps the person I am sleeping with fidgeting or talking in their sleep, keeping me awake at night.

Last night I knew I was in for trouble. I arrived home from a meeting at 10pm, to see two taxis’s waiting outside the next apartment entrance, and young adults streaming out of the apartment block laughing and joking, obviously going to a night club.

At 3am in the morning they returned, and their party continued in an adjacent apartment, loud talking and shouting, laughter and banging of doors and furniture.

Other residents were obviously being disturbed to, as I heard knocking on floors and walls, loud enough to make me think someone was knocking on my front door.

The noise continued until 7:45am, when all went quiet, and I went back to sleep, only to be awoken by a telephone call half an hour later to inform me by a recorded voice that “Congratulations, you have won a prize…..“. I did not stop to listen, but switched the phone off and placed it under my pillow.

My sleep had been disturbed now and I got up.

Oh for a good nights sleep.

Perhaps I should go and find a desert island somewhere.

But then I expect a flock of seagulls would wake me up as soon as it became light, signalling each other it was time to get their early morning food.

It is now 1:30 pm in the afternoon, and the revellers have just woken-up, and shouting and laughing has started again.

I was delivering a Mind Map and Memory course at a major communications company in Turkey. Sixteen employees finding out that they can remember 14 random items by just listening to them once, the planets, how to construct a Mind Map as originated by Tony Buzan.

Yes guys I had a burger but not from McDonnell’s, but from a Turkish takeaway.

The English session in the morning of NLP was not run, and due to the course I was running out of the school, but they the participants, had a rest.

The drive back to my apartment took nearly two hours, much quicker to take the ferry.

In my mind as we drove back, I thought of those that were doing things I was not, perhaps being with friends eating a meal, something I cannot do, I do not have time, if I did, I would need to relax, but that is seen as not being social, or not etiquette.

Tuesday started off with half my computer keyboard not working, having had the tea spilt over it the previous night.
I could not let this incident distract my trainings, but why not “reframe” it, and use it as a metaphor in the English class. As an international trainer of NLP, I can use my experience to teach a concept via a story to feed the inner mind, the unconscious mind, what you need to know, now, after all the years of experience I find is easy.
I talk about sick dear, and how just one word can affect the way we are, our state, how at a conference, a person stood in for someone who was ill, and how knives, fire and steam came from the participants, but they learnt how to keep state.
I was asked to visit a company in Sisli, on the Western side of the Bosphorus, a computer company which is very proactive on training their staff in communication skills, dealing with clients and staff. The meeting went on longer than we had planned, which meant we missed the ferry back to Kadikoy to conduct the afternoon trance.Upon arrival, I was immediately driven away to another client, one hours drive across Istanbul, in heavy traffic, which seems to be ever presenting traffic jams, a journey taking two hours.
On arrival, it was a joy to meet so many of my previous students, with big smiles on their faces as they greeted me. So many people who know me. Wow.
I know I can do more work with them to help reach the goals, the outcomes they gave me.
The journey back to do the late English class was very tiring, as the countryside drifted past, I am amazed at the amount of new roads new infrastructure there is. New high rise accommodation, flats, apartments, are springing up.
The class starts one hour late, but I am in a good state, so I deliver so much to the participants.
I tell them about the beautiful “female” I saw in Singapore, and the first time my mother met Mee Len, mother never meeting a Chinese person before nor eaten a Chinese meal.
I know that during this session they tried many things, and perhaps liked them.
I added so much to the evening session I was late leaving the office/school, so much so that I missed the last train on the Tunel train, which runs from 7am till 9pm.
I was too tired to think, I needed sleep, rest, but I had to prepare for the next day, iron my shirt and suit, prepare my props to teach Mind Maps and Memory Skills to a major Turkish telecommunication company, and eat a meal.
I hope those who know me realise I am not the Wizard of Oz. I need rest today.

No matter where I go in the world, things happen. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Monday night after finishing the English NLP class with NLPGrup, I returned to the apartment in Taxim Tunel, and after a while at 8:30pm, I felt hungry, and decided to get my usual wrap from La Cantine. Plus I needed milk and some Cornflakes, for my breakfast.

On returning, climbing those steep stairs, I had nothing to, as others were out enjoying themselves, perhaps drinking, relaxing, maybe deciding to stay with friends overnight, leaving pets and their family to fend for themselves. I decided to watch the SlingBox TV system. (clink to find out more)

As I watched, I wanted a cup of tea, unusual me late at night, and I had one tea back left. I sat back and enjoyed a hot cup of tea, British style, with milk.

With half my cup of tea left in my hand, the handle, a metal handle collapsed, and the remaining cup fell to the table, and my computer, some of the liquid finding its’ way onto my computer keyboard.

My heart beat at double the rate, I could feel it. My reaction was to say words not allowed on the internet, I had a vision of sick deer.

Nothing, it had happened I had to be calm to deal with the situation, my Oh Poo Poo helped me to quickly clean-up the mess, but my new computer. The keyboard was not working.

I went to bed, with my attention on Mustaphaso that I would sleep, a hard day was to Tuesday, there was not point in crying over split milk, my computer keyboard was dead. I hope my insurance will cover the damage.

The next day, I cleaned more of those internal parts I could access, I do not wish to break and seals on the computer, these could invalidate the warranty or insurance policy.

As the Turkish people are so passionate about Ataturk, I have made a little research on his history. I am sure I have not covered everything, please excuse me if I have made any mistakes, assumptions, missed anything out. Please add notes to this entry to correct my ignorance, and educate me on the history.

In 1881 Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was born. In 1893 he enters Military Secondary School at Salonika, and over the next years he progresses through various military schools ending-up in 1905 graduating from the General Staff College with the rank of Staff Captain and is posted to the Fifth Army, based in Damascus.

In 1906 he helps to found Fatherland (Vatan) Society in Damascus. There was trouble in the country a Counter-revolution in Istanbul, and in 1909 Ataturk as divisional chief of staff, marches with Union and Progress striking force on the city from Salonika. By 1911 he has been promoted to Major, and he serves with the Ottoman Empire army against Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece. During this time many treaties were made, and it seemed broken, which resulted in Russia, Britain and France declaring war against the Ottoman Empire, in 1914.

Thoughout this campaign the Allies lost many battles, the Dardanelles, the Turkish Straits, Canakkale, the Gallipoli Peninsula, Bitlis and Muş, etc, and the Ottoman Empire lost battles and campaigns to, being forced out of Palestine and Syria, resulting on 30 October 1918, an Armistice being signed between Ottomans and Britain at Mudros. Ataturk had risen to the Rank of Commander.

Between then and 1923, many battles were fought, lost and won, especially against the Greeks in Izmir and Inonu, Sakarya, and many treaties where made, with Ataturk being given the title of “Gazi”and rank of Marshal by Grand National Assembly.

On the 24th July 1923, theTreaty of Lausanne was signed in Switzerland by Turkey and the Entente powers that fought in World War I. After the conclusion of the Turkish War of Independence, this treaty recognized the Republic of Turkey as a sovereign nation.

On 9th October, Ankara becomes capital of Turkey. Then on the 29th October, the Proclamation of the Turkish Republic was made, with Ataturk as President. This resulted in the Ottoman dynasty being exiled.

Various radical changes were made, including the closing ofreligious schools, and organized Islam becoming regulated by the state, the abolition of religious courts, the abolition of fez, suppression of religious brotherhoods, and the closing of sacred tombs as places of worship, and the introduction of the Latin alphabet.

Ataturk died in 1938, having change a nation into Turkey as we know it today.

I love the Turkish people, they are kind, considerate, passionate about their culture, and their state founder Ataturk. I have done a little research on Ataturk which I have added to this blog as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, please add and correct any mistakes I have made.

It seems that the Turkish people love to know each others ages.

In my courses I get people to introduce each other, and they will say:-

“This is Murat, he is a teacher, and he is 45 years old.”

Why? I as a foriegner find this very strange, but that is one reason I love travelling to different culture, we are all the same, but different.

So, I am asked my age. It is not in British culture, well not mine, and, well, I do not want to look and feel my age. Deep down I feel 18 years old, OK, 21, after my heart proceedure.

Last week on the 13th of March was my birthday, and the NLPGRup staff gave me a chocolate cake, so now I am 95 years old.